Independents (Australian NUS faction)
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Students who politically organise on an independent basis can be classified into two main groups.
independents (small 'i' indies) are entirely independent voices in that they do not organise together and may have any sort of political affiliation, ideology, pusuits, as well as geography. By and large, small 'i' indies can be found on regional and rural campuses where location has demonstrable isolation effects.
The Independents (big 'I' Indies) operate collectively but are non-binding on NUS National Conference floor. These students have agreed to openly discuss their ideas on policy, with the intent of sharing information so that each participant may have access to a broad range of opinions.
The five principles of the Independents are:
- Pro-Student
- Pro-Union
- Proactive
- Non-aligned and
- Non-binding.
In 2005, the Independents were coordinated on a national level by Susie Byers (WA) and Jason Ngam (Vic), who had been elected to National Executive for the 2005 term. In an amusing yet ultimately victorious twist of irony, the renegging on a vote deal by the National Broad Left faction at the 2004 Conference lead to the Independents getting one of their two candidates (Jason) for National Executive voted into office on a full quota in their own right. Susie was a member of National Executive ex officio as President of NUS West.
Susie Byers was President of the University of Western Australia Student Guild in 2004, and Jason Ngam was Higher Education Student Member of Swinburne Council and the 2003-04 President of the Swinburne Student Union.
In late 2005, the Independents cooperated with many other groups to ensure a 'Left' National Office. Despite the failure of Curtin Student Guild President Patrick Gorman, the Labor Left candidate, to defeat Student Unity's Michael DeBruyn - this 'Left bloc' was highly successful, winning every other Office Bearer position, and a majority on National Executive.
The Independents secured one National Executive position at the 2005 Conference, Emeline Gaske, who was the 2006 Education Council President at UWA and coordinated the Independents on a national level.
The 2006 Conference saw the Independents pull off a significant coup, defeating Student Unity for the position of National General Secretary for the first time in 15 years. The Independents worked with various left-wing factions, and also managed to gain the support of the Liberal Students to elect Mathew Chuk, the outgoing President of the UWA Student Guild, who has pledged to use the position to coordinate national campaigns and to reach out to member organisations that have become disenchanted with the way the Union has been run over the past 15 years.
[edit] Independent Office Holders
| Year | Name | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Misha Schubert | National Womens Officer | University of Adelaide |
| 1995 | Mel Wheeler | National Education Officer | University of Adelaide |
| 1996 | Michelle Giglio | National Welfare Officer | University of Adelaide |
| 1996 | Rachel | National Small and Regional Officer | University of Tasmania |
| 1996 | Paul Gamble | WA State President | Curtin University |
| 1997 | Zane Whitehorn | National Welfare/Small and Regional Officer | Northern Territory University |
| 1998 | Amrita Dasvarma | National Women's Officer | University of Adelaide |
| 1999 | Evelyn Loh | National Education Officer | Northern Territory University |
| 1999 | Trent McCarthy | Victorian Welfare/Small and Regional Officer | Deakin University - Rusden |
| 2000 | Helen Stitt | National Women's Officer | Australian National University |
| 2000 | Jenny Farrar | Victorian Education Officer | Monash University - Gippsland |
| 2000 | Nathan Zhivov | Victorian Welfare/Small and Regional Officer | Deakin University - Geelong |
| 2000 | Alexis Tindall | South Australian Women's Officer | University of Adelaide |
| 2001 | Simon Millman | WA State President | University of Western Australia |
| 2001 | Bryony Horrocks | National Executive | University of Western Australia |
| 2002 | Brent Haywood | National Queer Officer | University of Canberra |
| 2002 | Elizabeth Brogan | National Executive | University of Western Australia |
| 2002-03 | Bek Cornish | National Executive | University of Adelaide |
| 2003 | Taso Filippou | SA State President | University of South Australia |
| 2004 | Bek Hamed | National Environment Officer | Australian National University |
| 2004 | Jenelle Davy | National Queer Officer | RMIT |
| 2005 | Susie Byers | WA State President | University of Western Australia |
| 2005 | Jason Ngam | National Executive | Swinburne University of Technology |
| 2006 | Emeline Gaske | National Executive | University of Western Australia |
| 2007 | Enrico Burgio | WA State President | University of Western Australia |
| 2007 | Mathew Chuk | National General Secretary | University of Western Australia |
| Student unions of Australia | |
|---|---|
| National: National Union of Students of Australia | |
| Universities: ANU | Adelaide | Ballarat | Bendigo | Canberra | Charles Darwin | Curtin | Edith Cowan | Flinders | Griffith | James Cook | La Trobe | Macquarie | Melbourne | Monash (Caulfield campus) | Monash (Clayton campus) | Murdoch | New England | New South Wales | Newcastle | Queensland | QUT | RMIT | South Australia | Southern Cross (Coffs Harbour campus) | Southern Cross (Lismore campus) | Southern Queensland | Sunshine Coast | Swinburne | Sydney | Tasmania (Hobart campus) | Tasmania (Launceston campus) | UTS | Victoria | Western Australia | Western Sydney | Wollongong | |
| Current Factions: Australian Liberal Students Federation | Grassroots Left | Independents | National Labor Students | National Liaison Committee | Socialist Alternative | Student Unity | |
| Former Factions: Australian Labor Students | Left Alliance | Love and Rage | National Broad Left | National Organisation of Labor Students | Non-Aligned Left | Small + Regionals | |
